Set on the riverbank not far from the city’s famous waterfront The Bund, Bulgari Hotel Shanghai is a 48-floor tower that features 82 rooms including 19 luxury suites.

Along with the modern high-rise, the Italian fashion house restored the adjacent Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, a 20th-century landmark which features Italian gardens and houses a 500-square meter, triple-height-ceilinged Bulgari ballroom.

To harmonise the Italian brand to its Chinese setting, guestrooms feature materials like black lacquer cupboards and Tuscan Calacatta marble tabletops for an East meets West aesthetic.

(Related: A look at Bulgari Resort Bali)

Common spaces like the lobby and hallways are understated, with matte black granite, light Navona travertine, polished teak and bronze detailing.

The hotel spa features a 25-meter indoor heated swimming pool and beauty treatments are based on luxury brands like La Mer and Amala.

Dining options include a rooftop Italian restaurant, as well as a fine dining Cantonese restaurant inside the former chamber of commerce.

Meanwhile, VIP guests and visitors with free-flowing bank accounts will have the Bulgari suite at their disposal, a 400-square meter living space accessible by private elevator, with sweeping views of the Bund and the Pudong skyline.

The suite includes three bedrooms, five bathrooms, three lounges, a dining room that can seat 12 guests, private study, spa and treatment room Jacuzzi, gym, kitchen, 24-hour butler service and access to a private Maserati limousine.

Bulgari’s burgeoning hotel brand also has plans to open properties in Moscow and Paris by 2020 and Tokyo by 2022.

Fendi, Versace and Armani have also branched out from designing fashion to hotels with properties of their own.

(Related: Why Giovanni Bulgari, scion to Bulgari dynasty, ventured into wine-making)